Fluorescent tubular discharge lamp fitting



' Jan. 15, 1946.

F. H. REEVES FLUORESCENT TUBULAR DISCHARGE LAMP FITTING Filed O Cl'.. 27, 1945 I Patented Jan. 15, 1946 zonet-2 `FLUORESCEITYI TUBULAR DISCHARGE LAMP f yFITTING 4Frederick Harold Reeves, Tividale, Tipton,flEng land, assigner to Revo v'--Electric .Co. Limited, n Ti-vidale, Tipton, England'afBritish.company Application October 27, 1943, Serial No. '507,867 In Great Britain November V3, .194,2

12 Claims.

This invention has lreference to improvements .connected .with iiuorescen't tubular discharge v.lamp ttings, and .essentially to fittings of this character which incorporate a substantially .rectangular or `semi-cylindrical trough, which trough-.in addition toproviding amounting there- 'in for each .end of the lamp 0r lamps also provides reflecting surfaces for the light rays emitted .from the lamp .or lamps.

`In .connection with .lamps of this .character it is .necessary .to `provide what Vis known as auxiliary control gear for `the lamp or lamps, say by Way `of example the .choke coil, condenser, starter ,switch etc., .and this gear is usually mounted on the roof or .ceiling ofthe trough vin a more orv .less .separate box or cover, .or may be mounted adjacent theQends thereof ,within a separate housing or housings which maybe vconnected with the trough.

The primary object of the present invention is to utilise what .may be termed the dead space which normally obtains at the end of and within each trough las a mounting for the aforesaid gear and thereby to avoid extensions or protuberances on the trough casing of the fitting. A further object is to enclose the aforesaid gear by means of a cover plate which is pivotally connected to the ends of the trough and is of such a contour as to afford a ready means of access to this gear while the outer surface thereof will deflect or reiiect in a measure the light rays from the lamp or lamps so as to avoid what may be termed any dead end or dark shadow portions within the trough. A still further object is to combine or associate with the cover plate a means of readily eiiecting a release of the plate from its locked or closed position within the trough Which means will automatically attain a non-obstructive position relative to the cover plate when the cover plate occupies its closed or locked position.

The invention consists of a fluorescent tubular discharge lamp fitting incorporating an inverted trough-like reector casing, characterised by the disposition of the auxiliary control gear for the lamp or lamps within the end or ends of the trough so as to form with the trough casing a self-contained unit, the control gear being protected by a hinged cover plate or plates which serve to constitute part of the reflecting surface for the lamp. The invention further embodies a catch lever which is vpivotally mounted in the free edge of each of the said plates and is adapted when in the locked position to Contact the roof of the trough and to lie in proximity to the outer 7 closed and :locked position.

face of the plate, the said 'lever being operated to effect a camming release of the plate.

` Apre'ferre'd means of carrying the present invention into practice aS applied to an 'inverted 'trough reiiector iitting adapted to contain a fluorescent tubular lamp is illustrated by the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which:

Fig. vl Vis a perspective View wherein part .of the control gear is located within each end of the trough,one part whereof is enclosed by .the hinged cover plate shown Iin the closed position, 'while the other part thereof is adapted to be enclosed by the cover plate at 'the other end shown in.

the open position.

Fig. 2 Vis a longitudinal sectional elevation vof the vone end of the inverted trough tting showingthe hinged coverplate and catch leverin the Fig. 13 is an `end elevation of the parts seen in Fig. 2 looking from the direction of the longitudinal axis of the lamp,

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the auxiliary control gear is disposed in part at each end of the lamp in what may be termed coaxial disposition to the longitudinal axis of the lamp a. This control gear which generally comprisesl a condenser, starter switch, suppressor and choke is mounted in part at the one end of the inverted trough reflector b and in part at the other end thereof. In the illustration of the invention it is assumed that the condenser, starter switch and suppressor are located at the lefthand end of the trough while the choke c is located at the right-hand end. This control gear is securely mounted by means of a cranked carrier plate d, clips or other device to the end or inner side of the roof or ceiling and/or to the walls of the trough b, and has the usual lead connections to the lam-p socket a1. The gear is protected or enclosed within the ends of the trough b b-y means of pivotally mounted cover plates e hinged along the lower edge of the ends of the trough by means of hinge pins e1, the cover plates incorporating a slotted inclined section c?, the outer surface of which is adapted to form a reecting surface so that in addition to the reflection of the lamp rays from the inner longitudinal face of the trough b there isl a degree of reflection fromy the inclined end cover plates thereby avoiding what would ordinarily be a dark shadowed or dead end section.

The free extremity of the inclined section e2 of the hinged cover plate is beaded at c3 and this bead is. adapted to engage with a sheet-metal catch d1 which forms the outer end of the sheetends of which extend laterally in common alignment and are adapted for pivotal location within the heading e3. Intermediate these ends the wire is looped and extends downwardly in the form of a relatively long U the base of the centre of which forms the handle or grip of the catch lever f. Formed in the length of the wire intermediate the central U-section and the laterally extending ends .are a pair of small loops ,f1 which are adapted to he brought into contact with the underside of the roof of the inverted trough and effect a. camming action whereby the catch lever f is automatically turned and through the carnming pressure obtaining as a result of this contact caused to occupy a position parallel toand in close proximity with the inclined outer section e2 of the cover plate as clearly seen in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the U-shaped central section of the catch lever f partially surrounding and vbeing located below the tubular fluorescent lamp a which i'slcontained within the fitting.

' When it is desired to effect a release of the cover plate it is only necessary to exert a pull in an outward and downward direction on the base 'section of the U-shaped part of the lever f, that is, the lower part of the lever, with the result that the pair of loops f1 adjacent the outwardly directed or lateral extremities which form the hinge of the catch lever are forced aaginst the underside of the roof of the trough band thereby effect a Withdrawal of the beaded edge e3 of the cover lease means for the hinged Vcover plate by means of the catch lever associated therewith when it Y is desired tc obtain such access to the parts associated with the ends of the lamp contained within the ends of the trough.

I claim:

1. A xture for a tubular fluorescent lamp, comprising, in combination, a lamp housing open on one side, means in the end of the housing for electrical connection to the lamp, a cover for said means having one end hinged to the housing and having a. portion at its other end notched toiit' around the tubular lamp, the notched portion having a reflecting outer surf-ace and 'being inclined toward the open side of the housing so as to reflect light from the lamp through the open side of the housing, a catch at said other end for securing the cover in closed position, and a lever for releasing the catch extending toward the open side of the housing.

2. A fixture for a tubular fluorescent lamp, comprising, in combination, a lamp housing open on one side, means in the end of the housing for electrical connection to the lamp, a cover for said means having one end hinged to the housing and having a notch in its other end to ait around the tubular lamp, a catch at said other end for securing the cover in closed position, and a lever for releasing the catch extending toward the open side of the housing.

FREDERICK HAROLD REEVES. 

